Gold gained in London as concern over Europe’s debt woes spurred demand for the metal as a protection of wealth. Slovakia, the only country in the 17-nation euro area that hasn’t approved a planned reinforcement of the European Financial Stability Facility rescue fund, is headed for a second vote after failing to approve the package. Physical gold demand was “decent” yesterday, UBS AG said today in a report. Gold will “continue to be underpinned by pockets of investor safe-haven purchases in addition to seasonally strong physical purchases,” James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, wrote in a report today. Gold “still requires a break above $1,685 an ounce to signal more bullish sentiment and a push above $1,700.” Immediate-delivery gold gained $13.17, or 0.8 percent, to $1,675.57 an ounce by 9:09 a.m. in London. Gold for December delivery was 1 percent higher at $1,677.30 on the Comex in New York. The Diwali religious festival later this month in India, the biggest bullion buyer, and then the traditional wedding season, may increase demand. Gold is in the 11th year of a bull market, the longest winning streak since at least 1920 in London. Prices reached a record $1,921.15 on Sept. 6 as investors sought to diversify away from equities and some currencies. The metal is up 18 percent this year. No-Confidence Motion The Slovakian rejection also triggered the fall of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova’s government, as the vote yesterday was tied with a no-confidence motion. European Union and International Monetary Fund officials indicated Greece will get an 8 billion-euro ($10.9 billion) loan next month, saying the nation has made “important progress.” “In a world where growth is slowing and we’re yet to see a conclusive initiation of any kind of policy from policy makers, until that trend changes, I think gold is a haven,” Andrew Gardner, an analyst at MF Global Australia Ltd., said by phone from Sydney. Silver for immediate delivery gained 0.9 percent to $32.3575 an ounce. Palladium was up 0.3 percent at $608.75 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.9 percent to $1,535.60 an ounce. To contact the reporters for this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net Want to save this for later? Add it to your Queue!

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